Need advice 00 - Tranny slipping..

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L

lx470cinci

10 Year
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Threads
2
Messages
32
Hi Mudders,
I have the infamous 2000 tranny. I have had the truck for 3 months. In warm weather, the flare between shifts is acceptable for a 00 tranny. Shifts are kind of slow, the rpm's go up a bit before it seats tight in the next gear.

In cold 8 deg F weather, the tranny will take 8 or 10 seconds to go into 1st gear when I first move from Park to Drive. If I start to drive immediately, the slip is unacceptable--very little power transfer. I have found if I let the car warm up 20 minutes before driving it performs normally.

So here is my big question. Do I spring for a Toyota reman. tranny $2300 + $1100 labor, I do I go for the Australian Automatic Nomad Valve Body $1270? If I did not have concerns about the 00 pedigree, I bet the valve body would fix up the tranny. But I'm leaning toward the reman. to eliminate all doubt since it has the correct parts installed to fix the original 00 defects.

Curious if you guys think the tranny is toast or if a valve body would get her done.

The car has 120k miles, the fluid is pretty red and the truck was never used for towing. It is a cream puff.

I appreciate your thoughts,
Greg

P.S. I found a strong recommendation from a tranny shop for 10oz. of Lube Gard. I put this in and it did help lube the valves and it does shift better. I just think this slipping and flare is a bit to extreme in really cold weather to leave as-is.
 
Your symptoms sound quite different than the typical "infamous 2000 tranny" failures. Do you have a reputable, Cruiser-friendly dealership nearby? I'd go for a second and/or third opinion...
 
What's your fluid level like? A few years ago there was a post with similar symptoms but only after coming to a hard stop. Turns out he was way low on fluid and was starving the pump when the fluid sloshed forward. The TC didn't have enough to generate torque on the output shaft. Perhaps you're having a similar issue in the cold?

The procedure is to measure the level hot and with the engine running, but in your case I'd measure it cold and with the engine running and see where it hits on the 'cold' mark on the stick. I'd also check it again when up to temp.

BTW, I wouldn't put anything in my A343F that wasn't factory recommended, but that's just me.

I agree with the above that you don't sound like 'typical' MY2000 A343F symptoms.
 
I just replaced the oil on my tranny, and after reading a fair amount on mud, where i put in 10 litres of ATF... then read on lcool.org where I found the specific service instructions about correct fluid levels... I ended up taking out about 5 litres and doing the checks at 46 to 50 degrees Celsius... And added back about a litre again...

I was also told to remove the mesh filter when the sump was off and wash that in Petrol/engine cleaner... But read that when draining the transmission naturally the oil drains out backwards through the filter and removes any dirt so no need to remove it or the sump...

But I was also cautioned by a man who knows and reconditions that tranny often, when removing that fine mesh filter that's encased in a thin 4"x8" steel casing, there is a seal or "O" ring that can get out of place

image-196852552.webp


You can see the "O" ring in the hole on the Left of the pic in the middle, this photo was taken when the sump was off and the mesh filter removed so it could be cleaned & dried out in the sun.

I made sure to get another sump gasket before I did my service, but it was a little tricky putting back the mesh filter as the "O" ring or filter gasket kept moving out of place, and if that happens, I was told it can cause all sorts of problems

So I would suggest u do what I did and get your mesh filter cleaned out (easy enough job for any mechanic who knows that tranny, and get the ATF fluid levels correct, as too low and too high can be a problem

Good luck and let us know how it goes
image-196852552.webp
 
I checked my fluid level. It's on the high side. It's above the hot limit.

Shane,
I like the idea of cleaning the screen to the pump. I presume the screen is on the input side--correct? If it is plugged and it is an input screen to the pump, that could definitely cause my symptoms. Was your screen plugged at all?

OregonLC,
Thanks for the link, that is a great FAQ on how to change the tranny fluid.

Thanks for the tips!
Greg
 
If you want to lower your fluid level, rather than draining it form the plug, disconnect the return hose (shown in my link) and use that to bleed it down (with the engine running). I'm suggesting this because if you have a pump/suction problem it will be evident as no flow. Without restriction it comes out fast so use some type of restrictor. you can safely take it down 1.5 qts before worrying about starving a healthy trans (assuming a level surface). Just make sure to add back before operating.

Keep us posted on how it goes.
 
You will want to see how much metal is in the trans pan, that will give a good clue as to state of tranny.
Most dealers now treat the tranny as a non-serviceable and any issue requires a replacement, so beware.
The valve body is only a small part of transmission, so if you replace it and it is the torque converter or other major components you are going to hate yourself.
Once one of those major components self destructs, many will tell you to toss the valve body in case of metal particles lodged in it.
 
Okay, so I flushed the tranny this weekend. I opted to not drop the pan, I figure if the flush does not cure it that it will result in a tranny swap anyway, so the amount of metal bits simply are what they are.

So here is what I did.
1. I drove the truck until the tranny was warmed up.
2. I put in Amsoil Engine/Tranny flush and drove it very gently for 15 minutes to circulate the detergents. A lot of start & stops and going into reverse.
3. Drove it into the driveway and jacked the front end up until the tranny pan was horizontal. This keeps the residual in the pan to a very low volume.
4. Dropped the fluid in the pan via the drain bolt.
5. Poured in 2 gallons (8qt) into the fill tube of Dextron III.
6. Turned on the engine and pumped out the fluid through the transmission cooler line into a 5 gallon bucket. I stopped the engine after about 1.5 gallons came out.
7. Refilled tranny with ATF until the fluid coming out was a pretty pink. Basically used ~15 quarts.

So the next morning, it was 28 degF and I took it for a spin. The engagement into 1st was still very poor at cold temperatures. When I first drove away from my house the rpm's when high, but the truck was not moving much. In short, the tranny still had very slow shifts in 1st & 2nd with poor power transfer. When it warms up it gets better, but its still not right.

I am going to have one tranny shop look at it just to see if there is an e-z button, otherwise I it will by a toyota reman for $2.3k.

Thanks for the help.
Greg
 
I noticed this post on the 80 series forums. They claimed its an A343F tranny, I'm wondering how similar this A343F is to a year 2000 unit.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/349909-improving-transmission-shifting.htmlThey had a very similar issue to me with 'slipping' in 1st & 2nd but works fine in 3rd & 4th.

1. Does a 2000 LC A343F have this throttle cable which adjusts pressure in the tranny? (shown in hyperlink above)
2. Does a 2000 LC A343F have the internal knob on the valve body to adjust tranny pressure? (shown in hyperlink above)

Shane, if you have a picture with the pan removed from another angle--that could be interesting...

Many Thanks,
Greg
 
Those are my photos, no adjustment knob there. You need to see how much metal is in the pan of the transmission as a first step. Also some folks think a flush can stir up stuff in the pan and cause more damage.
 
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